Carton with integral tubular liner



April 1, 1958 w. A. RINGLER CARTON WITH INTEGRAL TUBULAR LINER 1 2 Sheets-Shet l Filed Nov. 12 1955 IN VEN TOR.

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April I, .1958 w. A. RINGLER CARTON WITH INTEGRAL I TUBULAR LI NER v 2 Shets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 12, 1953 IN VEN TOR. flfi 4 /4M 4, five; 5K, w

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United States Patent CARTON WITH INTEGRAL TUBULAR LINER William A. Ringler, Wayne, Pa, assignor, by mesne assignments, to The Diamond Match Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application November 12, 1953, Serial No. 391,481

:3 Claims. (31. 22a-14 My invention relates to paperboard cartons, and more particularly to a carton provided with an integral tubular liner which may be made of paperboard or like inexpensive material on existing automatic machinery.

It is a principal object of my invention to provide an integral structure comprising an outer carton and a tubular inner liner within which a bottle or other article may be placed in such a way as not to permit contact of any of its surfaces with the walls of the outer carton, thereby producing a cushioning effect.

It is va further object of my invention to provide structure of the character described wherein the tubular liner is additionally provided with cushioning means at its ends to cushion the ends of the article against contact with the top and bottom of the carton structure.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a carton structure of the character described wherein both the outer carton and the inner tubular liner are formed from a one-piece carton blank, and wherein the tubular liner is automatically extended to erected condition upon erection of the outer carton.

Yet another object of my invention is the provision of a carton structure of the character described wherein the outer carton body includes seal end flaps, and wherein the tubular liner carries triangular projections adapted to be contacted by the seal end flaps when in closed position, the said projections serving the dual purpose of cushioningthe ends of an article placed in the tubular liner and of supplying internal pressure against the seal end flaps acting to support the innermost flaps during the folding and gluing thereof.

These and other objects of my invention which will appear hereinafter or which will be apparent to the skilled worker in the art upon reading these specifications, 1 accomplish by that construction and arrangement of parts of which I shall now describe certain exemplary embodiments.

Reference is now made to the accompanying drawings wherein: I

Figure 1 is a plan view of. the blank from which my carton structure is formed.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary portion of the blank of Figure 1 upon the initial folding step.

Figure 3 is a plan view illustrating the next successive stepinthe folding of the blank.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 44 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a plan view illustrating a further folding stepin the formation of the knocked-down structure.

Figure 6 is a plan view illustrating the structure in knocked-down condition.

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken along the line 77 of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a sectional view similar to Figure 7 but showing the structure in the erected condition.

Figure 9 is a perspective view of the erected box prior to the infolding of the top closure members.

2,828,902 Patented Apr. 1, 1958 Figure 10 is a partial perspective view similar to Figure 9 showing the infolding of the projections carried by the tubular liner.

Figure 11 is a perspective view of the completely erected and closed structure.

Figure 12 is a plan view of the erected and closed box with the tubular liner shown in dotted lines.

Figure 13 is a sectional view taken along the line 13- 13 of Figure 12.

Figure 14 is a sectional view similar to Figure 13 illustrating a modified tubular liner having a length somewhat less than the length ofthe article surrounded thereby.

Figure 15 is a plan view of a modified blank for my carton structure.

Figure 16 is a perspective View with parts in dotted lines of a carton structure formed from the blank of Figure 15.

Figure 17 is a partial perspective view similar to Figure 16 showing the projections carried by the tubular liner in the infolded condition.

Referring now to Figure 1 of the drawings, the blank therein illustrated comprises four generally rectangular wall panels 1, 2, 3 and 4, adapted to form the body Walls of the outer carton, and a connecting panel 5 and liner forming panels 6, 7, 8 and 9, all in articulation in the order named, there being a glue flap 10 articulated to the outermost side edge of liner forming panel 9. Asillustrate'd, the lengths of the connecting panel 5 and the liner form-ing panels 6, 7,8 and 9 are equal and slightly less than the lengths of the wall panels 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the carton body. Closure flaps 11, 12 and 13 are articulated to the upper edges of the body walls 1, 2 and 4, respectively; and similar closure flaps 14, 15 and 16 are articulated to the bottom edges of the body walls. The body walls 2 and 4 are medially scored, as at 17 and 18, the said score lines projecting through the closure flaps articulated to the body walls 2 and 4, thereby permitting the opposite body walls 1 and 3 of the outer carton to collapse in face-to-face relation. Triangular projections 19, 2t), 21, and 22 are articulated to thetop edges of the liner forming panels 6, 7, 8 and 9, respectively; and similarly, projections 23, 24, 25 and 26 are articulated to the bottom edges of the linerforming panels.

In describing the folding and gluing of the blank, the surface of the blank which is uppermost in Figure 1 will be referred to as the innersurface, while the opposite side will be referred to as the outer surface.

In assembling the blank into a knocked-down carton structure, the first fold occurs along the line of articulation 27 between the liner forming panels 8 and 9, the

latter panel being infolded to overlie panel 8 in the manner illustrated in'Figure 2. Either prior to or subsequent to the infolding of liner forming panel 9, adhesive is applied to the outer surface of glue flap 10, the adhesive being indicated by the shaded area 28 in Figure 2. The blank is next folded along the score line 29 between liner forming panels 6 and 7 so as to bring the parts to the condition illustrated in Figure 3 wherein it will be seen that the glue flap 10 is brought into adhesive engagement with the inner surface of liner forming panel 6 adjacent its line of articulation to the connecting panel 5. This folding step results in the tubing of the liner forming panels in the manner which can be best seen in Figure 4 of the drawings.

The third folding step in the formation of my carton structure comprises the infolding of the parts along the median score line 18 in wall panel 4, thereby bringing the blank to the condition illustrated in Figure 5 of the drawings, whereupon adhesive stripe 30 is applied to the outer surface of connecting panel '5 adjacent its line of articulation to body wall 4. The fourth and final foldingstep in the formation of the knocked-down earton structure comprises the infolding of the blank along the median score line 17 in body wall panel 2, thereby bringing the outer edge of body wall panel 1 into adhesive engagement with glue stripe 30, thus bringing the parts to the condition illustrated in Figures 6 and 7 of the drawings. In this condition it will be apparent that the outer carton is tubed about the tubular liner and the tubular liner connected to the outer carton by means of the connecting panel which serves to space a corner edge of the liner intermediate the sides of body wall panel 1 of the outer carton.

The carton structure is erected by applying inwardly directed force against the opposite side edges of the collapsed structure, as indicated by the arrows A in Figure 7, whereupon the body walls of the carton arecaused to be erected to assume the condition illustrated in Figure 8, which is the erected position of the outer carton and tubular liner. The proportioning of the parts is such that the liner forming panels 6 and 9 each have a width equal to the hypotenuse of a triangle having legs substantially equal in length to one half the width of body walls 1 and 2 (or 3 and 4) respectively; and hence as the outer carton structure is erected, portions of the medially folded body wall panels 2 and 4 will contact the outermost side edges of the panels 6 and 9 forcing them outwardly away from the body wall panel 1 and hence serving to bring them to erected condition with their outermost side edges coinciding with the median score lines 17 and 18.

Upon erection of the carton body walls, the end closure flaps at the bottom of the carton will be closed, thereby causing the carton to assume the position illustrated in Figure 9, whereupon the bottle or other article to be placed in the carton will be fitted in the tubular liner, such article being diagrammatically indicated at 31 in Figure 8. Upon positioning of the article within the tubular liner the projections 19, 20, 21 and 22 are infolded over the article in the manner shown in Figure 10.

Thereafter, the closure flaps 12 and 13 are folded across the projections and the closure flap 11 infolded to close the top and bring the structure to the condition illustrated in Figure 11.

As will be clearly evident from Figure 12, the article positioned within the tubular liner is spaced inwardly from the body walls of the outer carton and hence is cushioned with respect to them. As seen in Figure 13 the projections 19, 20, 21 and 22 serve to cushion the top of the article 31; andsimilarly the projections 23, 24, 25 and 26 serve the same purpose at the carton bottom. In the embodiment illustrated, the tubular liner has a depth only slightly less than the depth of the outer carton and the article contained therein extends from substantially the bottom to substantially the top of the carton. However, it is within the spirit of my invention to reduce the depth of the connecting panel and liner forming panels in the manner illustrated in Figure 14 wherein the connecting panel 5a is of reduced depth, as are the liner forming panels, such as 6a and 8a. in this instance the projections 19, 20, 21 and 22 at the top of the liner, and projections 23, 24, 25 and 26 at the bottom thereof, will be inclined in the manner illustrated, thereby increasing the cushioning etfect between the top and the bottom of the slightly smaller article 31a and the top and bottom of the outer carton.

While in the embodiment just described the outer carton structure is shown to be square in cross section, it is within the purview of the invention to provide cartons which are rectangular in cross-section. A blank for a carton which is rectangular in cross section is il- Iustrated in Figure 15, wherein like parts have been given like reference numerals for purposes of simplicity. In this embodiment, which is exemplary only, the carton body walls 1 and 3 have a width substantially equal to twice the width of the body walls 2 and 4. The blank of Figure 15 also illustrates the use of seal end closure flaps 32, 33, 34 and 35 at the tops of the body walls, and seal end flaps 36, 37, 38 and 39 at the bottom ends thereof.

The blank will be assembled in the same manner as the blank described in Figure 1 and will result in the carton structure illustrated in Figure 16. It will be evident that in this embodiment the connecting panel 5 will have a width equal to one half the width of the body panel 1 and the liner forming panels will be of a width to extend between the longitudinal axis of the body walls 1 and 3 and the median lines of fold 17 and 18 in the body walls 2 and 4. Hence irrespective of the relative sizes of the opposed pairs of body walls making up the outer carton, the liner forming panels will be of equal width. However, the projections 19 through 26, while triangular, will be cut so as to have their edges lying in abutting relation in the closed structure.

Where the outer carton'is of the seal end variety, it will be noted that the projections 19-22 at the top of the carton and the projections 23-26 at the bottom thereof have a normal tendency to resist infolding and hence tend to spring outwardly beyond the confines of the carton body walls. This tendency of the projections to spring outwardly causes them to support the first folded closure flaps 33 and 35 from within, thereby efieetively resisting inward displacement of those flaps during subsequent infolding and sealing of the intermediate and outer closure flaps 32 and 34. Where the top of the article contained in the tubular liner extends slightly above the tops of the liner wall panels, as illustrated in Figure 14, the top edges of the article acts to support the projections against inward displacement and hence increases the ability of the projections to support the seal end flaps during sealing of the carton end.

Modifications may, of course, be made in my invention without departing from the spirit of it. Having, however, described my invention in certain exemplary embodiments, what I desire to secure and protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In a collapsible carton structure formed from a onepiece blank, an outer carton having first, second, third and fourth body walls in articulation, a connecting panel articulated to said fourth body wall, said body walls being tubed with said first body wall adhesively secured to the outer surface of said connecting panel, said outer carton being collapsible along median score lines in said second and fourth body Walls, and an integral inner liner articulated to said connecting panel and comprising first, second, third and fourth liner forming panels and a glue flap in articulation, said liner forming panels being tubed within said outer carton with said glue flap adhesively secured to said first liner panel, said connecting panel having a width equal to substantially one-half the width of said first body wall, whereby acorner edge of said tubular liner is positioned intermediate the side edges of said first body wall, the adjacent corner edges of said liner being adapted, in the erected structure, to coincide with the median score lines in said second and fourth body walls, said last named body walls coacting with the said last named corner edges of the liner to automatically erect the liner upon erection of said carton body.

2. In a collapsible carton structure formed from a one-piece blank, an outer carton having first, second, third and fourth body walls in articulation, a connecting panel articulated to said fourth body wall, said body walls being tubed with said first body wall adhesively secured to the outer surface of said connecting panel, said outer carton being collapsible along median score lines in said second and fourth body walls, and an integral liner articulated to said connecting panel and comprising first,

second, third and fourth liner forming panels and a glue flap in articulation, said linear forming panels being tubed with said outer carton and said glue flap adhesively secured to said first liner panel, said connecting panel having a width equal to substantially one-half the width of said first body wall, whereby a corner edge of said tubular liner is positioned intermediate the side edges of said first body wall, the adjacent corner edges of said liner being adapted, in the erected structure, to coincide with the median score lines in said second and fourth body walls, said last named body walls coacting with the said last named corner edges of the liner to automatically erect the liner upon erection of said carton body, end closure flaps at the ends of said carton body walls, projections on the ends of said liner forming panels, said projections being generally triangular in outline and having their edges in substantially abutting relation when folded inwardly over the ends of said tubular liner to form cushions at the ends thereof.

3. In a collapsible carton structure formed from a one-piece blank, an outer carton having first, second, third and fourth body walls in articulation, a connecting panel articulated to said fourth body wall, said body walls being tubed with said first body wall adhesively secured to the outer surface of said connecting panel, said outer carton being collapsible along median score lines in said second and fourth body walls, and an integral inner liner articulated to said connecting panel and comprising first, second, third and fourth liner forming panels and a glue flap in articulation, said liner forming panels being tubed within said outer carton with said glue flap adhesively secured to said first liner panel, said connecting panel having a width equal to substantially one-half the width of said first body wall, whereby a corner edge of said tubular liner is positioned intermediate the side edges of said first body wall the adjacent corner edges of said liner being adapted, in the erected structure, to coincide with the median score lines in said second and fourth body walls, said last named body walls coacting with the said last named corner edges of the liner to automatically erect the liner upon erection of said carton body, end closure flaps at the ends of said carton body Wall, projections on the ends of said liner forming panels, said projections being generally triangular in outline, the length of said tubular liner being less tha the legth of said outer carton with the ends of said tubular liner spaced inwardly from both the top and bottom of said outer carton, with said triangular projections extending between the ends of said tubular liner and the end closures of said outer carton, said projections forming cushions at the ends of said tubular liner.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 901,695 Davis Oct. 20, 1908 1,601,625 Hruby Sept. 28, 1926 1,850,329 Metzger Mar. 22, 1932 2,330,294 Leavitt et al Sept. 28, 1943 2,348,070 Inman May 2, 1944 2,594,394 Casselman et al Apr. 29, 1952 2,611,529 Currivan Sept. 23, 1952 2,714,981 Leavens Aug. 9, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 256,037 Great Britain Aug. 5, 1926 

